New from Pia Wüstenberg

We last highlighted Pia Wüstenberg's work in our May 2012 issue, when we called her one of design's rising stars; previously we called out her innovative recycled paper lights, which she created by shaping rolls of laminated scrap paper on a wood lathe. She recently got in touch to let us know about her latest project: a new iteration of her Stacking Vessels, which she originally designed in 2011.

Here's more about the new Transformed Stacking Vessels, in Wüstenberg's own words:

“I want to design objects that have a contemporary aesthetic and modern function but are made in a traditional way," Wüstenberg has said.

"The Stacking Vessels were born as an object to bring together traditional craftsmen and craft processes as well as develop a contemporary aesthetic using familiar materials and making techniques. Since the first collection was launched in 2011 the studio has grown and I have spent the past two years traveling Europe to find the right people to work with, and learning from these people."

"We now work with wood turners in Finland, Austria, Germany and the UK; ceramicists in the UK; a ceramic engineer in Germany; and glass blowers in Finland, the Czech Republic, and the UK. It is incredible for me to see how my drawings are transformed and translated into bowls in these various materials, and I am always surprised by the challenges that lie in a 'simple' process."

Each vessel is completely unique, from the ceramic base to the "slumped" glass to the live edge turned-wood top.

"The Transformed collection is the peak of the Vessels; the pieces are large, and as such technically challenging in the making. In the design I revisit the idea of the traditional and familiar reinterpreted into something contemporary. The Vessels are symmetrical from one angle, but the glass is slumped to one side, so once viewed from another angle, the Vessel becomes asymmetrical. It is a play on the archetype of the Vessel, and a new challenge for the craftsmen working to make the pieces fit."